Hypodermic syringe



May 8, 1956 E. BARRETT ET AL HYPODERMIC SYRINGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001- 30 1951 52/6 592G577 Alf/NH BFZQQETT INVENTORS E. BARRETT ET AL May 8, 1956 HYPODERMI C S YRINGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001;. 50, 1951 (se/c eaeefrr a nun sneeerr I N V EN TORS nitecl States Patent HYPODERMIC SYRINGE' Eric Barrett and Alfina Barrett, Los' Angeles, Calif; Altina Barrett, administratrix of said Eric Barrett, deceased Application October 30, 1951, Serial No; 253,793

12 Claims. or. 128-216) This invention relates to hypodermic injection syringes, and particularly to such a syringe which is also a container for fluid for parenteral injection.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our application, Ser. No. 219,086, entitled Hypodermic Injector, filed April 3, 1951 and now abandoned.

Syringes of many types are well-known, this invention being related to the type shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,552,100 of May 8, 1951, wherein it is unnecessary to fill the syringe in the usual manner, the syringe being always sterile and ready for use. The syringe is also constructed 'so that it may be operated by one hand only. Although it is an important feature of the present invention' to provide an improved combination ampoule and syringe over the patented syringes, the invention also provides a very important additional feature, which insures that injections are made properly.

As mentionedabove, syringes are used to make both intravenous, and intramuscular injections, and errors throughfalse injections may oftentimes have serious consequences. The present invention precludes any errors in this respect when used by a physician or when selfinjected. This isaccomplished by providing the fluid container portion of the syringe with a form and of a material so that a suction is first created by pressure on a portion of the syringe before the fluid is forced into the needle of the syringe. By this action, blood may be observed in some transparent portion of the syringe or through the container portion itself, which may be transparent.

Thus, if an intramuscular injection is to be made, and blood is observed, the needle must be repositioned. If no blood is observed, pressure on the container portion may be continued and the injection completed. However, if an intravenous injection is to be made and blood is observed, the injection may be immediately made, while the needle should be repositioned if the injection is extravascular. This permits correct injections of either type to be quickly made by ones self or professionally.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to facilitate the injection of fluid.

Another object of the'invention is to provide an improved combination ampoule and syringe inwhich a test of the needlepoint position cannot be avoided.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of making hypodermic injections.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved syringe which has a container portion for a fluid to be injected, and which may provide a suction action in the needle before injection of the fluid in the container portion, a portion of the syringe or container portion being transparent. 7

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will bepointed out with particularity in the appended claims, the manner of its organization and-the mode of its operation 'will be better understood by referring to the following description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

- plastic material, which may be opaque or transparent, I

, Patented May 8, 1956 the syringe bf Fig.

Figs. 4 and ,5 are cross-sectional views showing a rnodification of the container portion of the syringe in its original position and under pressure. I Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another modification of the syringe shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. 3 Fig. 7 is still another modification of the container portion of the syringe.

Figs. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of a further modification of the container portion. of the syringe, and

Figs. 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views of the modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and taken along the lines 1010 and 11-11, respectively, of Figs. 8. and,;9. I

Referring now to the drawings, in which the-same .nu}

merals refer to like elements, a body portion 5 of rigid has finger wing extensions 6 and '7, aneck section 8, a tapered end section 9, and a saddle section 10. Unlike the dished member of the .above identified patent, which holds the fluid, the section 10 is cylindrical and is not adapted to hold any fluid, but to provide a curvature to fit the thumb to aid inv eliminating or exhausting all the fluid 11 from the cap container portion 12. The portion .12 is of a flexible and resilient plastic," in-which thefluid 11 is placedin the container and the section 10 slipped .therein, the contacting surfaces being sealed air-tight by eat or in any other suitable manner. A The flexiblecap may be of transparent material so'fluid 11 may be observed as well as any other substance drawn into the cap,

through the needle, such as blood.

Thus, the body portion 5 and capv 12 forman ampoule, the cap holding the fluid to be injected. .The syringe is formed by a needle 14 passingthrough the body 5, to the center of the saddle of portion 10, andout through the tapered section 9. To maintain the1needle.sterile, .a protecting cap lden closes the needle, and, byipress urq'it is attached to the tapered surface of section 9. At the bottom of the hollow interior of the cap 16, is a soft material17, such as rubber, cork, or soft vinyl, intowhich the tipor point of the needle passes toclosethe needle bore Thus, the fluid 11 is sealed in the cap 12, and the syringe? is ready for use upon the removal ofcap lo. 1 f1 5 The action of the syringe is illustrated in'Fig. 3. f The needle is first insert-ed and then with the first and second fingers under sections 6 and 7, the thumb exerts pressurein the direction of the arrows. Because the width or cross-sectional dimension of cap 12 in the plane of the paper, as shown in Fig. l, is greater than its width or cross-sectionaldimension at right angles to the plane of the paper as shown in Fig. 2, its dimension at rightangles to its width dimensions is less than its width in the plane of the paper as shown in Fig. 1, anditis made of a resilient plastic as mentioned above, the first result of this pressure is a lateral bulging of the cap 12, as shown by will be observable therethrough. Thus, the proper position of the needle point is determined for various reasons,

- such as mentioned above.

Now, with further pressure on the cap 12, the cap will take the position shown by the' dotted line 21, and the fluid 11 will be forced through the needle. Still further pressure will exhaust the fluid as thethumb forces the top of the cap into the curvature of the saddle section 10.

Although cap 12 has beenshown with a wall of substantially constant thickness; another wall form is shown at 25 in Figs. 4 and 5. This form of cap has a top section 26, which is fi'uted interiorly at its apex to permit the use of flexible but non-stretchable materials for the cap 25. The cap 25 is air sealed over body 27 with its needle 28, and is shown in Fig. partially depressed to create suction.

In file modification shown in Fig. 6, the body portion 30 may be similar to body portion 5 of Fig. l, but in which the flexible cap 31 has a normal form, shown by the solid lines. To obtain suction with this modification when the shape of the cap is circular in all crosssectioual planes perpendicular to the axis of the needle and its dimension axially of the needle is less than its widest cross-sectional dimension, as shown in Fig. 6, pressure is applied to diametrically opposite sides of the cap as shown by the arrows so that it first assumes the shape shown by the dot and dash line 33. in this manner, the internal volume of the cap is increased and suction is created in the needle 34. Further pressure in the same direction or on top will collapse the cap 31 and force the fluid 35 through the needle.

There'are two additional modifications shown in Fig. 6. First, the needle 34 extends only to point 36, a bore 37 in the transparent body 39 extending to the fluid 35. With the body 30 transparent, any fluid drawn through the bore 37 is readily observable, and the wall of the cap 31 may then be opaque. The second modification is a needle cap 39, which is of a soft pierceable material, such as soft plastic or cork, in which the entire needle beyond body 30 is embedded. The fluids may entirely fill the caps.

Referring now to Fig. 7, a form of flexible syringe cap is shown, particularly suitable for large syringes, wherein resiliency is obtained by spring frame members 40 and 41, a flexible envelope 42 covering the frame. The members 40 and 41 are U-shaped and attached at their apexes to each other. Although the prior structures may be satisfactory for small syringes, the structure of Fig. 7 is particularly suited to handle larger amounts of fluids, such as cc., and give the bulb-container strength as well as flexibility and resiliency. Pressure on the upper end of the cap will expand the ribs, and, by increasing the interior volume, cause the desired suction. Further pressure will expel the fluid in the cap. Pressures applied to the sides of the cap will also expel the fluid, in which case the ring ribs 43 of member 41 slide around the legs of member 40.

In Figs. 8, 9, l0, and 11, a cap construction is shown, which provides improved flexibility. A cap 45 is attached to a body portion 46 having a needle 47 therein. The wall of the cap is fluted, as shown at 49, which permits a greater increase in internal volume with less pressure than if the wall were uniform. Also, this form of cap permits material to be used which is resilient and flexible, but cannot be stretched. Before pressure is applied in the direction of arrow 50, the wall of the cap appears as shown in Figs. 8 and 1t), and, after the initial pressure is applied, the wall appears as shown in Figs. 9 and 11, inclusive. Further pressure will collapse the cap. There is thus first created a differential in pressure between the tip of needle 47 and the interior of cap 45, the higher pressure being at the tip, and then a differential in pressure in the reverse direction to eject the fluid from the cap. The cap 45, or a portion of the body of the syringe, may be transparent, so that any fluid drawn therein is observable. Thus, a test of the position of the needle point is made before the injection.

We claim: r 1. A hypodermic syringe comprising a body portion, a needle extendinginto said body portion, and a cap member, said needle communicating with the interior of said cap member, said cap member being adapted to con tain a fluid to be expelled "through said needle, said cap member being wider in one direction than in another direction perpendicular thereto, and the material thereof being flexible and resilient so that initial pressure on said cap sufficient to deform said cap first increases its narrower dimension to produce bulging of the walls of the cap bounding said narrower dimension to increase the internal volume of said cap to draw any fluid at the tip of said needle into said needle, and further pressure on said cap in the same direction decreases the internal volume of said cap to expel any fluid in said cap through said needle.

2. A hypodermic syringe in accordance with claim 1, in which said cap has tapered walls and the height thereof is less than the wider of said first mentioned directions.

3. A syringe comprising a body portion, a needle extending into said body portion, and a cap member adapted to contain a fluid, said needle communicating with the interior of said cap member, said cap member being wider in one direction than in another direction perpendicular thereto, the material of said cap being flexible and resilient so that initial pressure on said cap sufiicient to deform said cap first produces lateral bulging of the side walls of said cap across its narrower width to increase the internal volume of said cap to draw any fluid at the tip of said needle into said needle and cap, and further pressure on said cap decreases the internal volume of said cap to expel any fluid in said cap through said needle, said cap having one of said dimensions greater than its height so pressure at right angles to said dimension produces suction and further pressure produces expulsion of said fluid.

4. A hypodermic syringe, comprising a body portion having a hollow needle extending from one end thereof and a cap-like fluid holding receptacle fabricated from resilient material self-restoring in shape upon deformation, said receptacle having two cross-sectional dimensions in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said needle, one of said dimensions being greater than a dimension at right angles to said plane so that initial pressure on said receptacle in the direction of said last mentioned dimension suflicient to deform said receptacle first produces lateral bulging of the side walls of said receptacle across the narrowest of said first mentioned two dimensions to increase the internal volume thereof, said receptacle being mounted on the opposite end of said body portion, the passage through said needle communicating with the interior of said receptacle.

5. A fluid containing syringe comprising a body portion, a needle extending into said body portion, and a cap member, said needle communicating with the interior of said cap member, said cap member containing a fluid to be expelled through said needle, said cap member being wider in one cross-sectional dimension than in another cross-sectional dimension perpendicular thereto, and the material thereof being flexible and resilient so that initial pressure on said cap sufficient to deform said cap first increases its narrower cross-sectional dimension to produce lateral bulging of the walls of the cap bounding such narrower dimension to increase the internal volume of such cap to draw any fluid at the tip of said needle into said needle, and further pressure on said cap in the same direction decreases the internal volume of said cap to expel said fluid through said needle, said body portion having wing members extending at right angles from the axis of said needle and a-cylindrical saddle configuration within said cap member.

6. A hypodermic syringe comprising a body portion having a bore therethrongh, a caplike receptacle mounted on said body portion and adapted to have fluid contained therein and fabricated of flexible resilient material and having one cross-sectional dimension greater than a cross-sectional dimension at substantially right angles thereto in a plane perpendicular to said bore 50 5 that initial pressure on said receptacle in the direction perpendicular to said plane sufficient to deform said receptacle first produces lateral bulging of the side walls of said receptacle across its narrowest cross-sectional dimension to increase the internal volume thereof.

7. A hypodermic Syringe in accordance with [claim 6, in which .a needle is attached to said body portion, the bore of said needle communicating with the bore of said body portion.

8. A hypodermic syringe in accordance with claim 6, in which a transparent portion of said syringe is provided for observation of. said fluid drawn into said cap.

9. A hypodermic syringe in accordance with claim 6, in which said cap member is transparent.

10. A hypodermic syringe in accordance with claim 6, in which said body portion is transparent.

11. A hypodermic syringe in accordance with claim 6 in which the resiliency of said receptacle permits its return to normal shape after deformation by the initial pressure thereon, said initial pressure on said receptacle volume thereof by straightening the flutes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 911,523 Piers Feb. 2, 1909 1,288,174 Pittenger Dec. 17, 1918 1,687,502 Marcy Oct. 1.6, 1928 2,551,414 Burnside May 1, 1951 2,589,426 Ogle Mar. 18, 1952 2,625,157 Lockhart Jan. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 207,431 Germany n- Mar. 1, 1909 573,611

Great Britain Nov. 28, 1.945 

